Voyagers!: Kaputt
by Mrs.Phineas Bogg
Summary: A snippet set right after the Pilot episode. Jeffrey has been carrying around strong feelings of guilt over what occurred during the dogfight with the Red Baron. Something he realized was a vital part of history, but that may have come by his hand.


**Voyagers!: Kaputt**

"_I got him!"_

The words echoed in Jeffrey's mind as he tossed and turned in a fitful sleep. After fixing a major historical faux paux with cannons in 1066, the Voyagers decided to hunker down before moving on to their next assignment, whatever it was to be. Jeffrey was quickly learning that a Voyager had to be prepared for anything and always at the ready. He was beginning to wonder if an eleven-year-old kid was up to the task.

In his dream, just as on the voyage helping Mary Murphy and Eddie Rickenbacker, their plane descended rapidly. He and Bogg were spiraling through a haze of black smoke and fumes that threatened to choke the life out of them even before they hit the ground. However, they didn't make it out, and the plane crashed in a fiery explosion. This wasn't the first time he had this dream, though it had only been less than a week since that fateful day in 1918. Something weighed heavily on his mind, but he couldn't bring it up to Phineas until he sorted out what it was. Tonight the answer finally struck him as Phineas' commands rang in his ears.

_"Shoot him! Shoot him!"_

_"I am!"_

_"Then hit him!"_

Phineas Bogg slept soundly a few feet away. They had managed to find a cave within Mount Gilboa, neighboring the plain of Ain Jalut in Israel. On July 26th 1260, it became the site of a monumental battle with Genghis Kahn. Phineas had taken the boy there to ensure him that history was on course. And to show him that it was in _this_ year, the primitive cannons were put to use, not during the Battle of Hastings in 1066. They finally had the green light. With Gilboa and the hills of Galilee cleared of all the fighting, they were able to find a moment's respite from voyaging.

Jeffrey's eyes sprung open and he sat up forcefully. "I hit him, Bogg! I killed him! I killed him!" He cried.

Phineas awoke frightened and nearly smashed his head onto the cave ceiling. His pleasant visions of Mary faded and he saw the boy's outline through the faint glow of moonlight. He was huddled in the darkness and sobbing.

'_Poor kid, he must be thinking of his parents again. I knew that all these voyages in a row were too much for him.' _Phineas thought as he rubbed his bleary eyes.

Phineas crawled over fast and carefully put his arm around the boy's shoulders. He didn't want to frighten him or give him the wrong idea about his intentions.

"Jeffrey, hey, it's okay. Just relax, nobody's gonna hurt you, I'm here. I'm right here."

Seeing the boy in this state made him wonder when was the last time he had a good cry. It had surely been years. He rubbed Jeffrey's shoulder until his tears subsided and he was able to speak. Jeffrey raised his bloodshot eyes to Phineas.

"I killed him, Bogg. I killed a man, the Red Baron!"

Phineas looked at him confused. "Killed him? What are you talking about?"

"There was so much going on, I wasn't…I wasn't thinking about history or the day or anything, just…just what we had to do at that moment. We had to save ourselves and Eddie and Mary!"

Jeffrey wasn't making much sense to him, but Phineas already felt as dumb as a brick next to his smarts, and his Voyager pride had long been shattered since their very first voyage with baby Moses in Egypt.

"Sure…sure! We needed to get out of there fast and we had to fire back or else he would have made Swiss cheese of us." Phineas said cautiously. "What makes you think we killed him?"

"Not _we_, Bogg, me! It was April 21st, 1918. I'm pretty sure that Manfred Von Richthofen died on that day in a dog fight."

Phineas shrugged. "Oh, yeah? That's…too bad." Phineas didn't want to show the boy his concern. He was used to dealing with death on voyages, but Jeffrey wasn't, and knowing they had a time machine would make it even worse. "Hey, ya know, it was probably much later in the day. *Maybe it wasn't the 21st that we were there, I forgot the date already."

Jeffrey looked stunned at this man who was supposed to police the stream of time and events. Didn't he know _anything_ about history? Couldn't he put two and two together to understand what he was trying to tell him? Jeffrey held back his impatience and a biting remark. Phineas Bogg may not have been very bright, but he was the only friend and guardian he had left in the world. The young man tried very hard to endear himself to Jeffrey after the confrontation on the beach in Kitty Hawk. Jeffrey shook his head and rose, pacing the length of the small cave. He was still short enough to stand up tall.

"Bogg, don't you get it? History says that the Red Baron was killed on that day, around eleven in the morning, while flying over the Somme River. He was…shot in the chest with one .303 bullet, he still managed to land his plane, and his last words were…_Kaputt."_

"Broken?"

"Yeah. The crazy thing is, that up until my day even, nobody ever find out who killed him. But he was shot with an AA machine gun rifle, just like the one that was on Eddie's plane. The entry wound of the bullet was facing upward. I was shooting above us!"

Phineas hung his head. "Jeff, don't…"

Jeffrey had been facing the wall and he swung around, more tears clouded his eyes. "Bogg, I'm a murderer!"

Phineas was not expecting this history lesson or this admittance from Jeffrey. He calmly leaned against the rocky wall and ran his hand through his hair. There was a possibility he was wrong, but the boy had not failed him yet in his knowledge of historical facts. Phineas wanted to jump up and shake him to his senses, but he had to tread lightly. Jeffrey was extremely sensitive. He held out his hand.

"Come here, Jeff, sit down."

Jeffrey obeyed, but he wouldn't look Phineas in the eye and kept his face lowered. He picked at the short threads on the red checks of his sneakers. He needed anything to distract him from facing the Voyager and his shame.

"Jeffrey, I can't talk to you unless you look at me. That's not how I hold conversations. It's okay, I'm not here to condemn you or accuse you in any way. I wouldn't do that."

Jeffrey felt an ounce of relief and met Phineas' gaze. To his surprise, the Voyager gently smiled.

"Jeffrey, I admit, I didn't even know who Richthofen was, or his place in history, so it's not for me to say that he may have deserved what was coming to him. Just because he was German and fought on the other side didn't make him evil either. It was a time of War, the _First _World War, and everything and everyone involved had never seen the likes of it before. That I do know. It threw the world for a loop. A lot of crazy and violent things can and do happen in any war, believe me. Things that never even get reported for the history books. If we weren't up in that plane, it would have been Eddie and Mary. What do you think would have went down?"

"The both of them. I know they would have crashed and died. Eddie's shoulder was wounded, he nearly fainted, and Mary…well…she was an actress, she didn't know how to fly a plane or anything."

"Exactly. You know Eddie Rickenbacker better than I do, what became of him afterward?"

Jeffrey didn't have to think too hard. It was not long before he was taken by Phineas that he learned about the First World War in school. "Eddie flew three hundred combat hours during the war, more than any other U.S pilot, did tours, wrote a book. I know he got married and adopted two kids. He developed the concept of four-wheel brakes on cars, he went into the airline business and helped develop new airplane designs and set up air mail routes for the Government. He survived other plane crashes, rescued soldiers during WWII. Eddie had a lot of successful business ventures…wow, he really did a lot, Bogg."

Phineas was very impressed with Eddie's legacy. "And what did you say happened to Richthofen?"

"He…he died in 1918 at twenty-six years old, at the height of his fame." Jeffrey remembered.

"It's sad to die so young, but he was also a war pilot, he knew the dangers, and he seemed to me to be a little reckless, a show off almost. I remember my lessons in Voyager school now, and aerial dog fights weren't friendly. Someone usually got killed. And besides, that guy was acting crazy! He tried to blow us right off the haystack, and he didn't even stop shooting! That was not fair play."

The point Phineas tried to make was not lost on Jeffrey, but it still didn't console his guilt. "Bogg, I understand what you're saying, but _I_ still pulled that trigger too!"

Phineas clasped his arm. "Jeffrey, this might sound harsh, but if we're gonna keep at this job then it's a vital truth you need to know. What you did was something that a Voyager faces every day. They have to make split decisions that assures history will stay on track, whether it's good, bad or indifferent. We had to hold Richthofen off until Eddie and Mary made it out of there safely. And in the process, possibly make sure that…well…he went down. But that's _only if we _were the ones responsible for his death at all. It's very wrong, I know. But it happened, we can't change it again."

"I just wish…I just wish I _could_ change it. I feel like I killed three people!" Jeffrey cried softly.

"Three people? How?"

"My parents! I told you about the crash, how I couldn't get them out of the trailer and then ran away like a coward!"

Phineas grasped Jeffrey in a hug. "Jeffrey, stop it! You can't beat yourself up anymore about that. Do you think they would have wanted you to stay and get killed too? They were your parents and they loved you. They wanted you to save yourself and you _did_ try and save them. It just…just didn't happen fast enough. It was never your fault. _Aww,_ kid, maybe one day, you'll believe me."

Jeffrey sniffled, keeping his head down on Phineas' shoulder. He felt a deep sense of comfort. No one but this strange man had ever fully known the pain he was going through over his parents' death. It had hurt too much to share, but now he felt as if a giant burden had been lifted off him. Phineas Bogg understood his emotions and always tried to remain positive in the face of tragedies. Jeffrey greatly admired that about the Voyager.

Phineas patted Jeffrey's back and pulled away. "I'm sorry this happened to you. I really am. Ya know, I still wish you hadn't come up with me. I know you had the gun and I was yelling for you to shoot, but I was scared up there, and mostly for you. It's not easy being responsible for another human life."

"Bogg, you needed me! You didn't even know what the throttle was."

Phineas blushed. "I guess not. But not only that, you forced me to accept that for now we're partners, and partners must always stick together."

Jeffrey nodded slowly. Up until this moment, Phineas had never said they were partners, only Voyagers. It added a whole new dimension to their relationship and that sparked his courage and desire to continue helping out history in whatever way he could. He gave him a small smile.

"Thanks, Bogg. I feel a little better."

"Good. But listen, if you ever need to talk about anything or share your concerns, don't hesitate. If something is bothering you, kid, I need to know."

Jeffrey made himself as comfortable as he could again on the ground, balling up the gray jacket he had acquired in Dayton and using it as a pillow.

"Alright, I promise, and that goes for you too, Bogg. I may not be a grown up, but I'm a good listener."

Phineas laughed and mussed his curls. He maneuvered himself over to his side of the cave to lie down. "Thanks, Jeff. I'll remember that."

As Jeffrey nodded off, Phineas kept his hands behind his head and gazed out of the opening at the bright moon. Having a partner was going to be a challenge, but he had never backed down from one yet. As much as Phineas tried to fight it, every inclination in his heart told him that guidebook or no guidebook, he needed Jeffrey. He couldn't do it alone anymore. He rolled on his side and stared at the boy protectively.

'_Don't worry kid." _He thought._ "One day, you'll be a fine Voyager and your heart will no longer be… 'Kaputt.'_

**The End.**


End file.
